Apparatus for handling and storing automobiles and the like



Oct. 20, 1931. PBEEN 1,828,308 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE Filed July 18. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 20, 1931. P. BEEN 1,828,308

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE Filed July 18, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l zz 4 40 92 62 wjzs 8 35 x imaag 3a /5 2 L 0 1 2 f Z 5 Patented Oct. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL; BEEN, O'E MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR 10 HARNISCHFEGER CORPORA- TION, OF MILWAUKEE, .WISGONSIN, A CORPORATION: OF WISCONSIN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND STORING AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE Applicationfiled July 18, 1930. Serial No. 468,813.

This inventionrelates in general to storage systems and more particularly toan apparatus especially designed and adapted for use storing or parking automobiles, although also adapted for other uses and applications.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a storage system which eliminates elevators and transfer tables or cars and thereby avoids the loss of time involved in the use of such instmmentalities, which eliminates all elaborate stall equipment heretofore essential with storage systoms of this character, which avoids any extensive modification of the building structure housing the system thereby permitting standard types of buildings to be readily converted or changed over for storage purposes-or reconverted for other purposes without extensive alterations, which utilizes slightly modified hoisting and crane equipment for handling, the automobiles or other articles being; stored, and which operates with such eiii'ciency and at such a high rate of speed to enable the. cars to: be stored and re trieved in a minimum of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a storage system otthis character which is economical in the use of space and which may be constructed and operated. at a com paratively low cost.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement and combination otparts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure l is a view longitudinal vertical section. taken on line 1-1 of Figure 2 Figure 2 is aview in transverse vertical section taken along section line 2'2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3' is a diagrammatic plan view showing the arrangement ofthe storage stalls and the intervening aisle on each floor;

Figured is a view in side elevation showing one of the grapples and platforms employed; and

Figure 5 is a view in end elevation looking toward the left hand end of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, B designates generally a building having the usual outside walls I and roof 2. The building is constructed with a plurality of floors designated a153, 4 and 5 Although any number of floorsmay be provided, the present storage system is especially designed for use where the ground area available for the buildmg is not'limited or expensive and when capacity is had by extensive. floor space rather than by building the building up to any great height; 7

An individual well is provided between each floor above the ground level and the ground level, these wells being: designated at 6, 7 and 8', respectively. On each of the floors of the building storage spaces designated at 1-0- are provided, the storage spaces 10 being arranged in spaced rows along the sides of the building and being separated by an aisle l1. At one end of the aisle 11 and over each otthe wells a hatchwa-y 12 is provided,

plurality of load-ing'platforms designated at are provided and may be conveniently stored in a pit 16 at the ground level of each well, the loading platforms 15 being stacked and being fed to the ground level one at a time by a suitable mechanism as, for instance, by a hydraulic ram. I

'lo-each of'thewells 6, 7 and 8 entrance and exit ways I7 and 18 are provided. The automobiles to be stored are driven into one of the wells 6, 7 or 8 through the entrance-ways 17 thereof and directly onto the uppermost platform 15" of the stack. For transferring each platform with its automobile thereon from the loading station at which the stack of platforms are located to any particular storage space and for retrieving the automobiles and platforms from the storage spaces and bringing them back to the loading station, overhead cranes, designated generally at C, C and G are provided. In other words, as shown in the drawings, there is a separate overhead crane for each floor of the building above the ground level. The cranes C, C and C are of identical construction and each has the usual motor driven traveling Afte bridge 20 running on a track-way provided by rails 22 suitably supported upon the building structure. There is, of course, one such track-way above the storage spaces of each floor and each such track-way extends longitudinally of the building and longitudinally of the storage spaces. On the traveling bridge of each crane the usual motor driven traveling truck 23 is provided and runs transversely of the bridge along a track-way 24 provided on the bridge. The traveling truck 23 carries a pair of motor driven drums 25 upon which cables 26 are secured and wound. The details of the construction of the traveling bridge, traveling truck and mot0! driven drums are not illustrated or de-- scribed at length inasmuch as this is conventional crane equipment, well known and widely used. It is to be understood, however, that a low-headroom type of crane is employed in order that a minimum of space may be required on each floor for the accommodation of the crane and the storage of the vehicles. As illustrated in the drawings the traveling bridge of each crane has its transverse girders 20' which connect the end trucks 20 spaced to accommodate the hoisting cables 26 and also a portion of a grapple designated at 31. The cables 26 of each crane are connected at their lower ends to a rectangular frame 30 of the grapple 31. The frame 30 carries four grapple arms 32 one at each corner thereof, and each grapple arm terminates at its lower end in an inturned hook 34. The books 34 are designed to interengage with cooperable hooks 35 provided on each loading platform 15. As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, each loading platform 15 has a marginal frame 36 of channel construction to which a top plate 37 is suitably secured. The hooks 35 are appropriately fastened to the frame structure 36 of their platforms,

To transfer an automobile from the loadmg station to any particular storage space, the individual crane which serves the loading station at which the automobile is located is brought over its well 6, 7 or 8, as the case may be, and the truck of the crane is shifted transversely until the grapple 30 overlies the hatchway 12. The drums 25 are then rotated to lower the grapple until its hooks are positioncd to be engaged with the hooks 35 of the platform on which the automobile rests. r engagement of the hooks 34 and 35 the drums 25 are reversely rotated to raise the cables 26 and consequently the platform 15 with the automobile thereon and this operation is carried out until the platform is brought just above the level of the aisle-way 11 on the floor on which the automobile is to be stored. At this time the grapple 31 has its upper portion positioned between the trans verse girders 20 of the traveling bridge. The traveling bridge 20 of the crane is then actuated to carry the crane and platform and the automobile down the aisle until these parts are opposite the selected storage space whereupon the traveling bridge is stopped and the truck 23 moved in one direction or the other, depending on whether the automobile is to be stored on one side or other of the aisle. When the platform and automobile are properly positioned within a storage space the cables 26 are lowered to deposit t e platform flatly on the floor of the selected storage space and to disengage the hooks 34 and 35 whereupon the crane may be returned to transfer another automobile to another storage space. A reversal of this operation enables the loaded platforms with their automobiles to be returned from the storage spaces to the loading stations.

As shown diagrammatically in Figure 2, each crane has the conventional control cage 40 carried on the outside of the central portion of one of its girders 20*.

The hooks 35 on the loading platforms 15 are preferably symmetrically disposed with respect to the center of the platform as illustrated in Figure 4, that is to say, one pair of hooks is located at the same distance from the center of the platform as the other. However, these hooks may be offset if desired as illustrated in Figure 2.

The invention claimed is:

1. A storage system comprising a building construction having a plurality of floors divided up into rows of storage spaces and provided with aisles extending along the rows of storage spaces, said building construction having a well leading from the ground level to each of the upper floors, a loading station at the lower end of each well consisting of a plurality of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored, an overhead crane serving each upper floor and having a grapple adapted to be lowered through the well leading to the upper floor with which the overhead crane is associated and to be engaged with a loading platform at the loading station whereby the cranes may be utilized for transferring platforms with the articles thereon to and from the storage spaces.

2. A storage system comprising a building construction having a plurality of floors divided up into rows of storage spaces with aisles extending along the rows of storage spaces, said building construction having one end formed with a plurality of wells, one leading to each of the upper floors, a loading station at the lower end of each well consisting of a stack of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in the storage space with an article thereon, a plurality of one for each upper floor, a

overhead cranes,

a grapple actuated by each overhead crane and adapted to be raised and lowered through the well leading to the floor on which the crane is located and also being adapted to be moved horizontally with the crane, and means on each loading platform adapted to be engaged with the grapple whereby the platforms with the articles thereon may be transferred from the loading stations to the storage spaces and vice versa by said cranes.

3. A. storage system comprising a building construction having a plurality of floors divided up into rows of storage spaces with aisles extending along the rows of storage spaces, said building construction having one end formed with a plurality of wells, one leading to each of the upper floors, a loading station at the lower end of each well consisting of a stack of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in the storage space with an article thereon, a plurality of overhead cranes, one for each upper floor, each overhead crane including a travelling bridge movable longitudinally of the floor with which the crane is associated, and a truck travelling transversely of the bridge and having hoisting drums, cables actuated by said drums, a grapple connected to the lower ends of the cables and means on the platforms releasably engageable with the grapple.

4-. A storage system comprising a storage structure having a plurality of rows of storage spaces located at different levels, an overhead crane serving the storage spaces of each level, a well leading from the ground level to each of the upper levels, a loading station at the lower end of each well having a plurality of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in a storage space, and means controlled by the overhead crane and selectively engageable with the loading platforms.

5. A storage system comprising a storage structure having a plurality of storage spaces located at different vertical levels, there being a well leading from the ground level to each of the upper levels, a loading station at the lower end of each well comprising a stack of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in a storage space, an overhead crane at each of the upper levels and a grapple carried by each overhead crane and selectively cooperable with the loading platforms of the loading station at the lower end of the well leading to the level at which the crane is located.

6. A storage system comprising a storage structure having a plurality of floors, at least each of the upper floors having a row of storage spaces and an aisle extending along the same, a plurality of overhead cranes, one for each of the upper floors, a loading station at the ground level for each crane and consisting of a plurality of loadin platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in a storage space, and means controlled by each crane and adapted to releasable interconnection with the loading platforms.

7. A storage system comprising a building construction having a plurality of upper floors, each floor having a row of storage space and an aisle extending along the same, said building construction having a well leading to each upper floor, a plurality of loading platforms, one for each storage space, there being a supply of loading platforms at the lower end of each well, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an automobile, and an overhead crane serving each upper floor and having a grapple adapted to be lowered through the well and to be engaged with a loading platform at the loading station at the lower end of said well whereby the cranes may be utilized for transferring platforms to and from the storage spaces.

8. A storage system comprising a storage structure having a plurality of rows and storage spaces located at different levels and provided with a plurality of wells, one leading to each of said levels, a loading station at the lower end of each well provided with a plurality of loading platforms, each loading platform being adapted to receive and support an article to be stored and also being adapted to be deposited in a storage space with an article thereon, a plurality of overhead cranes, one for each of the levels, each overhead crane comprising a traveling bridge movable longitudinally of its row of storage spaces and made up of spaced transverse girders and trucks at the ends of the girders, and a traveling truck movable transversely of the bridge and having hoisting drums and cables actuated by said drums, a grapple connected to the lower ends of the cable of each crane and adapted to engage and transfer a loading platform with an article thereon, said grapple in its elevated position being accommodated between the transverse girders of the bridge of its crane.

In witness whereof, I hereto affix my signature.

PAUL BEEN. 

